Boerboel Farm Dogs: 2011

Working Boerboel Events/Seminars

It is exciting that there are some groups organizing some working events for Boerboels. I plan to attend both events with Azaan and Jaf.

The American Boerboel Club is hosting several fun and educational events in early 2012. A two-day tracking seminar is scheduled for the end of March 2012, and a herding instinct test (HIC) is along with a temperament test (ATTS) is scheduled for May 2012. All events are open to all breeds, with preference given to Boerboels.

The temperament test and HIC test are scheduled for May 5th and 6th, and they are being conducted at Keepstone Farm in Berryville, VA. The two-day tracking seminar is scheduled for March 31-April 1, and it is being held in Upper Marlboro, MD. All breeds and beginner trackers are welcome.

It sounds like a great time! Please come out and join us. For additional information and to sign-up, visit:

American Boerboel Club Upcoming Events

Tracking Boerboels

I haven't posted photos of my own dogs in a few months, so I figured I needed to get back to it! I have been tracking both dogs, and they enjoy it very much. I have a lot of fun with it too! These are a few photos taken this week of the dogs tracking over short grass as well as going through high vegetation in a field. Hopefully I will be able to get them tested soon so that we can enter a tracking trial.

The track started in a field of low grass where the higher vegetation was on the side:

Quo Vadis Barracuda (Jaf) Tracking

Then the track took a left turn into the higher vegetation. Both dogs easily made the turn and the transition into the field.

Quo Vadis Barracuda (Jaf) Tracking

There was another left turn in the field, then the track crossed a dirt/gravel road into a mowed area:

Quo Vadis Barracuda (Jaf) Tracking

Quo Vadis Barracuda (Jaf) 'Tracking

The track turns left and goes between two large pine trees. The article was on the other side of the pines. Good job, Jaf!

Quo Vadis Barracuda (Jaf) Tracking

Azaan tracks through the fields with the lower grass:

Power's Legendary Azaan Tracking

The track turns left into a field with higher vegetation:

Power's Legendary Azaan Tracking

Azaan's track also went through the large pine trees to one of the articles on the other side, but I didn't get any pictures. Both dogs love to track, and we are having a lot of fun with it!

Female Boerboel for Adoption

This lovely brindle girl is available for adoption. She is 6 years old, and has been living in a home with a Weimeraner, Dachshund and Shiba Inu. She gets along with the other dogs, and is fine with people once she has a proper introduction. Her name is Nandi, and she is currently located in Northern VA outside of Washington DC.

I do not have a lot of information on this girl. If you think you might be interested, respond to this post and I will put you in touch with her owners. She looks like a nice dog.

Nandi is crate trained and housebroken. She is extremely docile for a Boerboel. Apparently she just wants to crawl into your lap and lick your face. She is up-to-date on all shots and microchipped.

Sit Stay and Down Stay at the Outdoor Shopping Plaza

I took the dogs to the outdoor shopping plaza a few days ago, and worked on their sit stay and down stay with distractions. I would say they did pretty well!

Azaan in her sit stay:

Azaan and Jaf in a group down stay:

Boerboel Rescue: Young Brindle Male Boerboel for Adoption in Maryland

There is a young brindle male Boerboel located in Southern Maryland that is looking for a permanent home. He looks like a nice dog. Hopefully someone will consider him in lieu of buying a puppy. He was born on 11/15/2009, so he is only about 1-1/2 years old. His name is Bronx.

He is currently located with www.SecondHopeRescue.org in Southern Maryland. All pertinent info and contact information listed in the following Photoshow.

Boerboel Rescue: Bronx, 1-1/2 year Brindle Male for Adoption

If you think you are interested, contact www.SecondHopeRescue.org. Thank you!

Boerboels by the "Score"

In my opinion, the appraisal system for Boerboels is being over-used to sell puppies. If you are looking at Boerboel puppies, don't get caught up in the arbitrary score assigned by an appraisal system, a hip score or health score. These are only numbers, and are not indicative of the dog that you will be getting. At the end of the day, assess your requirements for a dog. You won't be living with a piece of paper or a score sheet. The Boerboel was meant to be a working dog, not a score.

A quick Google query of "Boerboel Puppies for Sale" shows the heavy advertising of Boerboels based on their score. The score doesn't make the dog, it's a way to advertise puppies and brag that your puppies are better than the next guys. Form follows function, not the other way around.

Alabama Tornado Victims and their Pets Need Our Help

I have a friend with a Boerboel pup who lives in Northern Alabama and was caught up in the horrific tornadoes that ripped through the area last week. My friend lost his house, his barns, his champion reining stallion and a few mares. His 9-month-old Boerboel pup was ripped from his arms as he was trying to hold him down. Thankfully, some friends spotted the pup a few days later wandering around in a field. A veterinarian is graciously taking care of the pup while his owner tries to get back on his feet.

The Alabama tornado victims need our help in getting veterinarian care to the thousands of displaced dogs, cats and horses roaming through the area. There are some veterinarians in the area who are working around the clock to help care for these animals. Many of the dogs, cats and horses are still displaced, and no one knows who they belong to. The vets aren't turning any animals down because they don't know who the owners are. I urge everyone to help if they can. This link is to a ChipIn site where the donations go directly to a veterinarian clinic in the area that is taking in 4-legged victims of the AL tornadoes. Please help!

Zoey the Boerboel Has Been Rescued!

OFA and Hip Extended View X-Rays to Determine HD in Dogs -- A Scam?

Here are two recent articles written by the veterinarian profession that question the value of hip-extended view x-rays as a way to determine HD in dogs. Note that although these articles are written with regard to OFA, the hip-extended view x-rays are the same method used by BVA, FCI, etc. The more I research this topic, the more I realize that the traditional hip-extended x-rays are nearly a waste of time and money. For a vet to admit that it is a scam makes it even more believable. I read about so many breeders who brag about their Boerboel's "perfect" hip x-rays! If they are relying on anything other than PennHip, it looks the breeder can get more value out of those hip x-rays by using them as a tool to light their fireplace.

Is It Time to Put OFA to Sleep?

In a day and age when veterinarians are calling for evidence based medicine, perhaps we should start following the medicine we have evidence for and stop recommending OFA certification in young patients. Perhaps we should put the following disclaimer out to pet owners before we perform an OFA evaluation…

“Hey owner – I have this test we can do to look for hip dysplasia. It really only works well if your dog has severe disease. In most cases, where disease is so sever that this test will be meaningful, I can detect disease by simply feeling your dog's hips. In the vast majority of cases, however, the test does not really tell us much and we don’t even do a great job interpreting it anyway. I even have a radiologist that I can sent the test to who will tell us that unless things are really severe we don’t know much about whether or not your dog will develop hip dysplasia. If you are cool with that, I would be happy to take your money."

Evaluation of the Relationship between OFA Hip Scores and PennHip DI in Dogs

Conclusion and Clinical Relevance—Dogs judged as phenotypically normal by the OFA harbored clinically important passive hip joint laxity as determined via distraction radiography. Results suggested that OFA scoring of HE radiographs underestimated susceptibility to osteoarthritis in dogs, which may impede progress in reducing or eliminating hip dysplasia through breeding.

Zoey - A Female Boerboel Rescue Looking for a Home

Great News! Zoey has been rescued and is living the good life at her new home with Julie at Mostly Molossers Menagerie. Julie, you are awesome!

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Zoey is a female Boerboel located in Pennsylvania, USA that is looking for a home. She is a former brood bitch. She was rescued from spending the rest of her life being bred. She is good with children and adults, but she isn't great with dogs. Julie made a cute slideshow of Zoey that shows some additional pictures of her:

Zoey Slideshow

For anyone interested, she is currently with Perry County Animal Rescue in Central Pennsylvania:

Perry County Animal Rescue

For additional information, you can send an e-mail to: PerryCountyAnimalRescue @ yahoo.com, or you can call 717-589-3005.

Jaf - Animation

Jaf Running - Click on the Photo to Animate it

A Prayer for Morgan the Boerboel

Great news! Morgan has been rescued by our good friend Paul in Plant City, FL. Paul opened up his heart to the plight of this poor girl, and marched out to the training center that had her and picked her up a few minutes before she was scheduled to be euth'd by a vet. Julie of Mostly Molossers Menagerie helped with the transition to Paul's house.

Thanks go out to Paul for giving Morgan a chance at life in a home where she can know love and kindness.

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My heart is heavy tonight after hearing about the fate of Morgan the female Boerboel from Tampa, Florida. Morgan will be 4 years old in April, but she won't get to see her 4th birthday. Her owners purchased her as a puppy, but they soon discovered they couldn't handle her and sent her off to a professional trainer. She has been living at the kennel/training facility since May 2009 in a 54" crate. Her owners have been paying her bills, but they never came back and got her.

Since that time, she was diagnosed with severe HD. Johnson's Mostly Mastiffs Menagerie has been trying for several months to get her shipped to Pennsylvania where she could have a warm, loving home with a family. Unfortunately, at the recommendation of a board certified ortho veterinarian, it was determined that Morgan's health problems were so severe that she would not have a good quality of life.

Dr. Pardo from PVSEC graciously went over all of Morgan's records, x-rays, photos and videos today, and the short version is that her hip dysplasia and muscle atrophy is so severe that she is not a good candidate for any surgery that will either work or help her in the long run. She also has at least one bad knee, and probably two. There were no guarantees for her future, or that she would ever truly be pain-free. Morgan will be 4 years old on April 12, 2011. She has resided in a kennel/training facility since May 2009 in a 54" crate waiting for someone to give her what she needed. Morgan has been failed by every person up until the last few weeks. It is undeniably painful and sad. Audrey has been the one person in Morgan's life who cared enough to work 'round the clock to find an end for Morgan's misery one way or the other. Morgan deserves the life we want for all of them -- a loving home and a happy, healthy, playful, pain-free life, but for Morgan hers now will be instead one of a peaceful release tomorrow, March 16, 2011.

Keep Morgan in your thoughts and prayers...and in your hearts going forward.

Snow Play - Boerboels Have Fun!

Quo Vadis Barracuda (Jaf), shows his athleticism in the freshly fallen snow

Quo Vadis Barracuda (Jaf) does one of his patented slides and turns

Quo Vadis Barracuda (Jaf)

Jaf with another one of his patented moves

Jaf enjoys his ball on a rope

Boerboels Jumping - 2011

Azaan and Jaf show their form over fences as they negotiate a natural obstacle.

Quo Vadis Barracuda (Jaf)

Power's Legendary Azaan

Power from the Rear

A dog's power comes from its hindquarters. Powerful hindquarters help a dog to run, jump, and change direction suddenly without risk of breakdown. A dog uses his hindquarters for propulsion. All power comes from the rear.

Picture your dog's legs as springs. When they carry themselves evenly over their back legs with their weight evenly distributed, they are on springs at their optimum position. The dog can then propel himself left, right, forward, up or diagonally. With adequate power from the rear coupled with balance, a dog can propel himself in any direction with ease.

Jaf (Quo Vadis Barracuda) demonstrates this concept perfectly. He can easily roll back on his haunches and propel himself straight upwards to a standing position. He doesn't need to use his front paws to climb or lean on anything for balance. As I said, all power comes from the rear!

Azaan and the Egge

Azaan loves playing with the Egge when there is snow or ice on the ground. When it is dry land, it doesn't move as quickly so it has less interest for her. On dry land or grass, she seems to prefer playing with a soccer ball. The Egge gives her some good exercise as it works her into a frenzy trying to "catch" it.

Michael Vick Confronted by Owner

Unconscious Cruelty to Animals

A friend from the Nitro Foundation sent this quote from Dr. Albert Schweitzer. Based on my last post about a Boerboel breeder using an underage puppy in a breeding program for personal profit, I thought it was appropriate to add Dr. Schweitzer's quote to this blog.

“We must fight against the spirit of unconscious cruelty with which we treat the animals. Animals suffer as much as we do. True humanity does not allow us to impose such sufferings on them. It is our duty to make the whole world recognize it. Until we extend our circle of compassion to all living things, humanity will not find peace.”

For information on the capitalist breeder breeding puppies to produce puppies for financial profit, visit

http://boerboelfarmdog.blogspot.com/2011/02/breeding-from-underage-male-stud-puppy.html:

Breeding from Underage Male Stud Puppy - Yikes!

I have written previously about why it is important to only purchase puppies out of breeding parents that are a minimum of 2 years old. Many health problems don't rear their ugly head until this age, and further you cannot know the dog's temperament until it has reached maturity.

I was browsing the internet the other day, and found these shocking online classified ads advertising a stud dog for hire in the UK, Immer Moed Zion, owned and advertised by Zion Boerboels. The puppy in question was only 10 months old when it was bred for the first time. He turned 1 year old on January 31, 2011, and his first litter is due on February 11, 2011. For those not inclined to do the math, the sire of this litter will be exactly 1 year and 10 days old when he becomes a father for the first time.

Since the ads may be taken down soon because of public outcry, I am taking the liberty of posting them here. This is not a libelous action on my part, because I am only publishing what the breeder has already written, cut and pasted from the breeder's website and the Boerboel Club, Active Boerboel Club, that supports the breeder. Needless to say, I would not recommend purchasing a Boerboel puppy from Zion Boerboels owned and operated by Karen Beattie and Adam McKendry. Breeding from an underage dog tells us volumes about the breeder's motives -- cash, cash and more cash. It is sad to see our pets used and abused in this manner:

This ad was posted on http://www.breedersonline.co.uk/, under Boerboel Stud Dogs (sic):

First litter from Immer Moed Zion, underage stud puppy, due February 11, 2011 as advertised on www.dogsandpuppies.co.uk. This exact same ad was also found on www.clickpets.co.uk/pets-dogs-otherbreedsofdogs.

This screenshot is from the breeder's website, Zion Boerboels, advertising "planned" litters. Note that the breeding bitch referenced, Zion Eva, is only about 7 months old at the time this was posted on the breeder's website and won't be 2 years old until 2012. Jumping the gun a bit, wouldn't you say?

One day after the breeder stated the litter didn't take, I found another litter that is due from this stud puppy. The dogs were bred in March, puppies due in May. Hurry up! The breeders need to line their pockets as fast as they can!! They can't wait until the dogs are mature, money needed now!